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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Monster Spray - Or an alternate use for a can of Glade that doesn't really smell like a Country Garden.

Peter loves monsters, ghosts and skeletons. He loves anything creepy, spooky or scary.

And all of this is well and good until bedtime. And then when it's time to be alone in the dark, his imagination kicks into overdrive - and he gets scared.

One night several weeks ago as I kissed him goodnight, he told me he was afraid that there might be monsters in our house and asked me to stay in his room all night.

I told him emphatically there were no monsters in our house and that there were no such things as monsters anyway.

But he didn't believe me and continued to ask me to stay with him.

I already had several shows lined up on the DVR that were calling to me from downstairs so I had to think fast.

I ran into the bathroom and grabbed a can of Glade air freshener. I took it back to Peter's room and said, "Look! Monster spray!"

He was intrigued and asked, "Monster spray? What's monster spray?"

So I started spraying the Glade under his bed and in his closet - you know, all the places scary monsters are known to hide. And as I was spraying, I was telling him that the smell of the spray scared the monsters away. Because everyone knows that monsters are mean, dirty creatures and that the monster spray smells so pretty and flowery that they have to run away from it as soon as they smell it.

He bought it. He got so excited that he wanted to use the spray himself. After a few more shots of Glade Country Garden, he climbed under his covers, said good night and immediately fell asleep.

And we have sprayed the monster spray diligently before bedtime every night for the last three weeks.

The only downside to the monster spray is that now every evening my upstairs smells like Glade Country Garden but my son is sleeping peacefully so it Works For Me.

For more Works For Me Wednesday, please visit Kristin at We Are THAT Family.

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21 comments:

Jessica Ryan said...

that's brilliant Beth! I smell a nifty marketing gimmick for you!!!

Grandma T said...

Ingenious!!

Dutchnic said...

Wow, that's a great idea. I'll have to remember that. I'm only 12 weeks pregnant but this idea sounds like a keeper!

Pam said...

Oh my goodness, Beth! You are a genius!

Brigit said...

Good thinking!

Angie @ KEEP BELIEVING said...

I can't even imagine how much of this stuff we would go through if I got my children to buy into this.

KEEP BELIEVING

Melissa said...

Stinkin' Brilliant! Where were you about three years ago?!?!?!?

Jendeis said...

A great idea!

My little sister was always afraid of a wolf in her closet. At bedtime, my mother would open the closet door and say the following, "Wolf? This is Mom. We're all going to sleep now so you can't come out. OK? OK."

The way that you are using and the method my mother used are good because they acknowledge the real fear that the kid has, even if the creature is imaginary. :)

Cynthia said...

I so need this idea...Lately The Little Man is afraid of monsters and ghosts. I don't even know where it came from? I'm going to try this...

RR Mama said...

Great idea! I will need to remember that with my 4 year old!

Annikke said...

I suppose the smell could be worse so I'd say stick with it!! ;-)

Robin hill farm said...

Good thinkin, mom. Peter got some sleep, and you were able to watch your shows. Perfect! :)

Evden said...

I used to do this for Will and Ben. Thanks for reminding me of this. I may need to try it again soon with Jack.

Kimberly said...

That's some quick thinking! Good for you...and glad your idea is working. I'll keep that in my hat for the day Quinn finds his own monsters!

Courtney said...

wow this is so creative, that is awesome!

Denise said...

Such a cool idea.

Rebekah said...

quick thinking, Mom!

Andrea said...

I had to do this with Tanner when he was younger. It worked GREAT!! I can't remember what my "monster spray" was though, but it left a smell just as well!!

rhemashope said...

HA! You're one smart mama!!!

Jaina said...

I think you need an award for that one. What a clever idea!

MDiskin said...

Great idea. One thing we do is to tell our daughter (3.5) what she should dream about that night, usually 3 dreams. They're all positive, like "We go to the zoo, all of us, and go see the baby pandas (there are 2 locally), and the zoo lets you go inside to play with them, and they are so cute!" or "We all get in the car and drive to Athens and see all your cousins! and go see the baby horses on the farm nearby! and then have a picnic in the park where the ducks are!" or even "we go to the library and..." This has helped us greatly with nighttime fears. Usually after we give her a couple, she adds on another one of her own, also happy. :-)